A Black Wedding
by J Hizzle
Summary: 3 college buddies, separated by work, are reunited when one of them is preparing to get married. However, when the groom to be wakes up the morning after the bachelor party to find a dead stripper in his bed, things begin to go horribly wrong.
1. Chapter 1

(A/N): Welcome to my CSI/ NCIS fanfic. It's my first crime show fanfic, so be nice  Aspects of characters' pasts are totally ficticious and of my own imagination, so don't berate me if you somehow know everything about a certain character, and realize that I got a name of his/her college wrong or something like that. In other words, I will be keeping true to the character's personalities and such, but other things like family history or background I may fabricate in order to make my story work.

Characters do not belong to me, they belong to their respective producers, directors ect.

Melissa (Warrick's wife) does belong to me…but I don't really care if you use her for whatever reason would want to… I don't even need her that much anyway…lol

I've decided to change the person Warrick is to marry for a few reasons. I do know that in the show, he is married to a nurse named Tina. However, that is about the extent of my knowledge of her. Therefore I have decided to just introduce an original character, so that if I feel the need to expand her character, I can do it without being abused by diehard CSI fans if I get something wrong. I doubt Warrick's wife will play a major role in the story, but just in case…

* * *

Introduction: 3 college buddies, separated by work, are reunited when one of them is preparing to get married. That of course means…bachelor party. However, when the groom to be wakes up the next morning with a dead stripper in his bed, and his co-workers and fiancée begin to doubt his innocence, it is up to the unwavering friendship of his two buddies to clear his name.

* * *

Warrick Brown woke up with a mind numbing pain in his head.

"I am never…ever…drinking again" he said to himself.

He knew he wasn't kidding anybody though. He had said that countless of times, after waking up the next morning from a big night out with his buddy Nick. Each time, the promise was kept for about a week at most. However, this time, the pain in his head was severe enough to actually consider it. He lay in bed with his eyes closed, trying to recall what actually happened the night before. The bachelor party.

As the pain began to subside at a snail's pace, he went through the past few weeks in his mind. He had proposed to his girlfriend of three months, at an Italian restaurant. He couldn't remember the name of the place, but particulars weren't that important to him at this point in time. He would have to remember later, or Melissa would probably slap him. Obviously, she had said yes, succumbing to his boyish good looks and his dazzling charm.

They had planned the typical Las Vegas wedding, a small affair with only a handful of closest friends and family at a church along The Strip. But before the wedding could take place, there had to be a bachelor party. The first person he needed to call, was his college buddy Anthony DiNozzo. Not that he didn't trust his other best friend, Nick Stokes, with organizing the thing, it's just that Tony was the king of parties. You needed to blow off some steam, get totally wasted and possibly laid, you called Tony. Nick was more conservative. A little shy, but still faired well with the ladies.

"It has to be the damn accent…" Warrick thought to himself with a smile. Together, the three of them had developed a close friendship over the few years they spent together in college.

Warrick was the only one of the three from Las Vegas. His father was a no show from the moment he was born and his mother died not too long after. He was raised by his strict, but loving grandmother. Not a privileged kid, He had to balance school and work as a teenager. When he graduated from high school, he had thought about skipping college and going straight to work. However, his grandmother objected, saying "You ain't gonna grow up to be a bum you hear me son. You go to college. I can look after myself." So reluctantly, he packed his things, and took up a baseball scholarship at Fresno State in California. While playing baseball there, he completed his degree in criminalistics.

While staying in California, he roomed with Nick Stokes. A quiet-at-first, but friendly guy from Dallas. They became good friends, sharing a love for science and beer. Nick was 'blessed' with rich parents, who paid for his education at Fresno, but that didn't bother Warrick in the least. Nick was always helping him out, giving him lifts to places in his car, and even paying for a return trip to Vegas when his grandmother got sick. The two of them also formed a close bond with Anthony DiNozzo.

Tony was a guy they had met in block party one night. The two of them were working their way through their second beer, when they noticed Tony. He was talking very animatedly to a bunch of college co-eds who seemed to be hanging on to his every word. Later that night, as Nick and Warrick were about to leave in a cab, Tony chased them down and pleaded them to take him with them. He was totally drunk, and on the verge of passing out, so they reluctantly obliged, Nick's morals prevailing over Warrick's street sense. Tony did pass out on the way back to campus, so Nick and Warrick dragged him into their dorm, and let him sleep it out on their floor. The next morning, he told them some story about a girlfriend wanting to kick his ass cause she found out he was two timing her at the party…while she was there.

Like Nick, Tony had rich parents as well. Well actually, he had a rich father. Although, the wealth amassed by his father was done so through illegal avenues. In other words, his father was a mobster in New York. He wanted Tony to join the family business, but when Tony declared his dislike for his father's life of crime and his willingness to go to college, his father cut him off. So Tony moved away from his family and attended Fresno on a football scholarship. Warrick liked Tony's love for life and he could always count on him to lighten the mood when he was feeling down. The three of them became inseparable during their college years.

Eventually, after a lot of hard work, and a hell of a lot of drinking, the three of them graduated. Upon graduation Warrick decided to move back to Las Vegas to take care of his ailing grandmother, who was approaching the final days of her life. Nick decided to come with him, and take up a job as a CSI level 1 in Las Vegas. Two months would pass before Warrick's beloved grandmother would pass away. He then joined Nick as a CSI level one. Tony remained in California, moving closer to the city and enrolling in the LAPD. He would spend a few months there, before transferring to Baltimore and to homicide. He spent two years in Baltimore, before moving to the nation's capital and joining NCIS.

It was now five years since college, and Warrick found himself in the very familiar position of not being a hundred percent of his surroundings. Eventually, he decided it was time to open his eyes and face the music. The sunlight nearly blinded him, causing his eyes to be added to the list of body parts which were experiencing a throbbing pain. He squinted them to allow them to adjust. Eventually, they stopped hurting and he gave them a quick rub. Good news…he was in his house. He was lying on his side, looking straight at his bathroom door. More good news…he had his boxers and his t shirt on. He sat up on the side of his bed, and immediately regretted it. He was feeling dizzy so he sat there for a minute. Once the dizziness subsided, he stood up gingerly, and walked into the bathroom. Leaning over the sink, he turned on the cold water and gave his face a splash. The icy water gave him a jolt, nullifying the pain in his head and the sick feeling in his stomach. He turned the water off, and raised his head to look at himself in the mirror. What he saw almost gave him a heart attack. Outside the bathroom, laying on the bed behind him, was a half naked woman.

"Oh…my…god…" he muttered. "Please god no…"

"It can't be…" he thought to himself as he stood, frozen, his eyes transfixed to the reflection of the peacefully sleeping figure lying on his bed. Flashes of last night raced in and out of his head, in no particular order.

"Think dammit!" he said to himself. "Ok…were there any strippers last night? Yes, of course they were. Tony would have never forgotten the strippers." He thought to himself. "Was she one of them? He couldn't remember…no…he couldn't tell. He couldn't see her properly." He turned around to look at her. She seemed to be laying very still. "God…what the hell happened last night?" he racked his brain. He remembered getting a lap dance from one of the strippers, but she was a redhead. The woman lying in his bed was blonde. After that, he couldn't remember much. He was too drunk. "Damn you Tony! Did he do this? Did he set me up?" Warrick pondered.

"Ok, ok…think Warrick. Just wake her up, and get her out of here." He would get the details out of Tony later. He approached the bed cautiously, as if she would pop up and scare the crap out of him. "Excuse me…miss…" he whispered tentatively. She still wasn't budging. She was lying sort of on her back, except her head was turned away from him. Quite an awkward way of sleeping. Warrick continued his slow approach to the bed. She had a bra on, and the blanket went up to her waist, so nothing was exposed, but Warrick still felt a sense of shame as he began to get very close to her. "What would she say?" He was now within arms length of her. "Excuse me…" Warrick said as he shook her arm gently. Still, she remained fast asleep. "Maam…maam…you need to wake…" Warrick's last words got caught in his throat along with the taste of bile. As he had shaken her more vigorously, her head flopped around so that she was facing him. Warrick stood paralyzed with fear as he stared at her blood covered face.

"Oh…dear god…" the words crept out of his mouth almost without him noticing. Staring back at him, were a set of brown eyes, wide open, along with a third eye, smack bang in the middle of her forehead. Blood had gushed out from the nickel sized bullet hole in her head, onto her face and on the bed. Warrick took a few steps back. He felt the bile rising from his stomach, up into his throat. It was all too much. Whether it was the excess consumption of alcohol from the night before, or the grizzly sight of the bloodied up stripper, or a combination of both, it didn't really matter. Warrick spun around, lunged for the bathroom sink, and vomited.

* * *

(A/N): I know a lot of that chapter was flashbacks, but I had to establish background for the characters somehow. The rest of my story will be more action/suspense oriented so don't fret. Tell me what you guys think so far though. 


	2. Chapter 2

(A/N): Glad you guys are enjoying it so far. I have decided to run with this story, and I hope you enjoy my next instalment…which sarts…now!

Recap: So basically, the previous chapter was mostly reflecting on college life and how the three main characters met and developed their friendship. The end of the chapter revealed a gruesome twist in the plot in which Warrick discovered a dead woman in his bed.

* * *

Hunched over the sink, the taste of vomit still lingering in the corners of his mouth, Warrick said a little silent prayer to himself. He never really was a religious man. He always liked to think that there was no higher power dictating your life, and that he controlled his own future. But right now, it was the only thing he could think of. He turned on the tap, lowered his mouth to the flow of cold water and rinsed his mouth out, but the taste of vomit refused to go away. Standing up straight, he wiped his face on his t shirt and turned around. The woman stared back at him, lifelessly. Being a CSI, Warrick was trained to think mechanically. In a time of crisis, he was taught to observe, analyze and act. He had never had to apply his training to something so close to home before though. He slowly approached the bed again. He stared at the blonde lady's face. She was quite pretty. Big brown eyes which exuded intelligence. A small sharp nose and a prominent chin. But the feature which attracted Warrick's attention the most was the bullet hole on her forehead. Right in between the eyes. Execution style.

"Is it possible…could I have…" Warrick began to wonder, but quickly dispelled any notion of that particular scenario out of his head. "No way. No way in hell I did that! No matter how drunk I was, I would remember doing something so hideous to another human being. But did I have sex with her? No way! I wouldn't have. I can't believe it. I won't believe it!"

Just then, a thought struck his mechanically tuned mind. "Her head was turned towards the window when I found her! But when I shook her, her head flopped towards me. Rigor mortis would have prevented that if she had died within the last 12 hours! She would have been stiff! That's it then. I'm cleared!" But Warrick knew it wouldn't be that easy. Still, he felt significantly more relaxed. At least now he knew that he had nothing to do with it. Which means he was being framed. But by who?

Warrick couldn't stand to look at her face much longer. The fact that he had been sleeping next to her freaked him out even more. He walked over to the door of his bed room and opened it slowly. He stuck his head out and peered around the living room. It was a mess, but at least no one was in it. He opened the door fully and walked out. The smell of beer and pizza flooded his nostrils, sending a fresh wave of nausea through his body. "Fight it Warrick! You gotta act right now." He said to himself.

Standing in the living room, Warrick began to feel vulnerable. He knew that there shouldn't be anyone coming this early in the morning, but just to be safe, he went over to shut his bed room door.

"Ok…who to call first…Nick? Surely Nick was the first person to call. Or maybe Gil, his boss. Gil had gotten him through some tough situations before, and he knew he could rely on his cool and calm nature to help him out without freaking out. Then he remembered something.

"Tony!" He yelled. "Wake up! Where are you!" As he began looking around the house, he recalled that DiNozzo was staying at his place until the wedding. Tony said he would stay at a hotel, but Warrick offered to put him up at his place.

"Tony!" He yelled again.

"What…" came the muffled reply from down the hall. Warrick walked over to his sofa and found Tony sprawled out on it, in his boxers.

"Tony, get up man. We got a problem."

"Huh…what? What problem? No problem…" Tony said half consciously and almost coherently.

"Yes problem!" Warrick corrected. "Big problem. Common get up."

Tony eventually opened his eyes and grumbled. "Look…I'll help you clean up the house later…woah. Geez, you were right. This is a problem. The place is a mess." He said, sitting up straight.

"Dude…this is the smallest fu--in problem at the moment. The real problem is in my bedroom." Warrick said, ushering Tony to his feet.

"Woah…hey…I can't help you with that dude. Look, if you're having trouble performing…I'm not the person to see…although I do see why you would think that I am…"

Warrick cut him off irritably. "Look. This is no joke ok! Now get up and come with me."

Tony looked up at Warrick, a little shocked by his harsh tone. "Ok, ok. Calm down. Now what's going on?"

"Just come." Warrick replied as he made his way to his bedroom door. Tony followed close behind him, his curiosity piqued by his friend's unusual behavior.

As Warrick opened the door, he turned around to look Tony in the face. Tony was trying to peek around him, having already caught a glimpse of the stripper in his bed.

"Oh…no. You didn't. Tell me you didn't…"

Warrick didn't answer, he simply stepped aside to allow Tony to view the big picture.

"Holy…crap. Warrick…what is going on here?"

"I don't know man. I just woke up and she was there…already like that."

"Oh man… Warrick…this is not good. This is so not good!" Tony said, stepping into the bedroom. He ran his hand through his hair. "Warrick…" Tony started to ask, but Warrick cut him off before he could get any further.

"Hey! No way man! No way!" Warrick told his friend flat out. He couldn't believe his friend would even think that Warrick did anything with her. But then again, even he himself wasn't sure until he noticed the rigor. He wasn't offended either. He knew that it was agent DiNozzo's brain working right now, not his college buddy Tony.

"Yeah. Of course. Sorry I even…oh god…this is not good."

Warrick, who was already over the initial shock of the grizzly revelation was able to think more clearly than Tony right now, who was evidently still reeling from the discovery.

"We need to call Nick." Warrick said.

"Um…yeah. Nick…right. Let's call him." Tony answered, only half listening. He was still examining the body.

Warrick dashed out of the bedroom, to his phone in the living room.

Twenty minutes later, Nick had arrived, and was in the bedroom along with Warrick and Tony. Warrick had decided against informing Gil for the moment, wanting to keep the crisis contained for now.

"Jesus…" Nick thought out loud. "This is serious man."

Warrick proceeded to tell Nick and Tony of his observations with the rigor.

"Ok. So that proves that she wasn't killed last night. But unless we find evidence of another person being involved, you are still going to be the prime suspect in the eyes of the investigators." Nick said.

Warrick was amazed at how coolly Nick was able to operate. He had always been the rock that kept the three of them steady.

"Right. So what do we do?" Tony asked.

"Obviously, we need to call it in. Make this a crime scene. Process it like we would any other, and find the guy who did this." Warrick said.

Nick seemed deep in thought. The two of them looked at him, seeking confirmation for Warrick's suggestion.

"Ok. That's a good idea." Nick finally said. "but I think you should get out of here Warrick."

"What? Why?" Warrick questioned, utterly confused at Nick's suggestion. Did he really think that he had anything to do with it.

"In case we don't find anything right away, I need to be able to contact you. If you stay here, you are probably going to be taken into police custody. You could get killed. Inmates won't know the difference between a cop and a CSI. To them, you'll just be a scumbag police officer. They'll kill you." Nick said.

Warrick saw the reasoning in Nick's suggestion.

"Plus, the person that framed you obviously wants you in jail, for I don't know what reason. If he finds out that you weren't caught, he will flip out. He'll probably come looking for you or something stupid like that. If he slips up, we can track him down and catch him."

It was at times like this that Warrick truly thanked god for having a friend like Nick. Nothing ever fazed him.

"You can come to Washington with me." Tony finally spoke out.

A moment of silence followed while Nick and Warrick pondered the suggestion.

"You can stay in my house." He added.

"Yes…yes! That's perfect. That way I can correspond with Tony, who can communicate with you."

Warrick nodded his head. It was time to act. He went and grabbed a suitcase out of his closet, and started packing his clothes. There was no time to lose. He was going to Washington.


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N): I just thought I'd let you guys know, in this story, Kate will still be alive. I sort of didn't want to have to deal with Tony's emotions over Kate's death. That's a whole other story in itself. It's just too much, so I decided to have Kate still be alive and Ziva still in Israel (assuming that is where she is from…)

Recap: So Warrick, Nick and Tony have gathered in Warrick's house, where they discussed what they were going to do. In the end, they decided that Warrick should go into hiding, following Tony back to Washington.

* * *

"Man. I cannot believe this is happening" Warrick mused out loud. Having settled himself in his seat, onboard the 747 bound for the nation's capital, he finally had time to reflect on the crazy events of the past few hours.

"I know. I wonder how Nick is doing back at the crime scene." Tony speculated. They had got window seats in economy class, and they had the luxury of having the third seat in their row vacant. Thus they could talk quietly about the dead girl.

"Notice how bad things only happen to me while you are around?" Warrick half joked.

"What?!? That's bullshit." Tony shot back.

"Honestly. I didn't even want a bachelor party. I just wanted to get married. But no… you had to make a big deal about it."

"Come on… how can you not have a bachelor party? Think about it. It is your last night, ever, of being single. I mean, next time I'm in town, and I ring you up and say 'Hey man…let's go grab a beer.', your wife is gonna be all like 'Oh no you don't Warrick! You gonna sit yo ass down and help me take care of the kids! You ain't gonna go out drinkin witcho buddies while I bust ma ass back here!" Tony mocked in the best African American woman's accent he could come up with.

Warrick just smiled.

"Hey, so how's Kate doing?"

The smirk on Tony's face quickly disappeared. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Warrick knew that the tide of the conversation had turned. It was time for Tony to get mocked. "Hahaha. What's the matter? Hasn't she succumbed to your charms yet?" Warrick sniggered.

"Just shut up alright. I'm still working on it. She's a tough nut to crack." Tony said, turning away from Warrick.

"Haha. Did you just compare Kate…the woman you've had a third grade infatuation for since forever…to a nut?"

"That is exactly what it is. A stupid third grade crush. I mean if she would stop acting like such a prude, I bet I wouldn't even find her attractive anymore!" Tony vented.

Warrick continued to smile. He was having fun. "Yeah yeah." There was a little silence between the two as the stewardess came around to hand out peanuts and drinks.

"She's pretty hot though…" Warrick teased.

"Hey! Back off hubbie." Tony mocked back. "You no longer have the privilege of fantasizing about attractive women anymore. It was one of the many rights you gave up the second you said 'those words'."

"Ah whatever. You are so full of crap."

Tony gave Warrick a dirty look, and then went back to trying to open the bag of peanuts.

"Honestly. Marriage isn't that bad. It's like getting lucky every night…except with the same woman." Warrick explained.

"Yeah, see that's the problem…" Tony joked. Warrick shook his head.

"Also, it's only for like the first week. Then after that, they make you beg for it. They get all like 'You want sex, you do the dishes." Tony said in a high voice.

Warrick continued to laugh. He really enjoyed Tony's company. No matter what the circumstance, Tony was always able to lighten the mood. He was always able to make him laugh. But still, all that talk about marriage made him think about Melissa. He wondered if she knew yet. He wondered what she would think when she found out. Most of all…he wondered if she would believe in his innocence.

* * *

Grissom, Sara and Greg stepped out of the CSI van, into the bright, ten o clock sun. Grissom had received the call from Nick at quarter to nine, and made the twenty five minute drive to Warrick's house from the lab in fifteen. Grissom rubbed his rough stubble, staring directly at Warrick's open door, where Nick was waiting. Sara and Greg stood behind him, carrying their CSI equipment.

"Hey Gris." Nick greeted. Grissom just nodded.

"She's in the bedroom." Nick told his boss, getting straight to the point. Grissom nodded again, still not having said a word. He walked into the house, straight to the bedroom, ignoring all the cops and reporters around. Sara and Greg followed, while Nick went outside to help tape off the premises. It was now an official crime scene.

As Grissom entered the room, the first thing he noticed was the blood. There was a lot of blood on the victims face, and on the bed sheet.

"T.O.D?" Grissom finally spoke.

David, the assistant coroner looked up through his thick rimmed glasses at his boss.

"Uh…liver temp puts the time of death at approximately 4pm Thursday."

"Thursday? Today is Saturday…Are you sure?" Grissom replied in surprise.

"Roughly. If you want a more accurate read, we need to get the body back to the lab for a full work up." David replied, still standing over the body.

Grissom took stock of the situation. He was trying to treat this as any other crime scene. Make no assumptions. Just collect the evidence and get to the truth…no matter how devastating that truth could be.

"Ok… Sara, go outside and get Nick. Tell him there is a spare kit in the truck. You two will process the entire bedroom. Snap, print…the works."

Sara Sidle nodded to her boss and went out to fetch Nick.

"Greg, you process the body. When Catherine arrives, get her to help you. I need this done fast. We need to get the body back to the lab asap. But don't rush. We can't afford to miss a thing."

Greg went about doing his job. Grissom remained standing in the room. Many things were running through his mind. Many questions. First off, the timeline seemed off. The time of death didn't match the account of events which Nick had relayed to him on the phone on the way here. Also, there weren't any bugs. No flies, no maggots, nothing. Grissom went outside into the living room. The place was a mess, as you would expect the morning after a bachelor party. Plastic beer cups strewn on the floor. Remnants of half eaten pepperoni pizzas. The place smelt too. However, nothing was out of the ordinary. There was nothing in the house that shouldn't be there. Grissom pictured the place minus the after effects of the party. There was very little furniture. A few pictures of friends and family around the place. Overall, it probably would have looked very neat and spacious.

"Hey Gris." Catherine called, causing Gil to snap out of his reverie. "Sorry I'm late. Got here as fast as I could."

Gil turned around to face the blonde haired woman. "It's alright. Just go inside and help Greg with the body."

"Ok. Hey, where's Warrick?" She asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I don't know. Nick said when he got here, Warrick was no where to be found."

"Is it bad?"

"Go inside and look for yourself." Grissom pointed towards the bedroom.

Catherine turned to where Grissom was pointing, and walked towards the room. She felt a nervous apprehension. She had always been close with Warrick. So close in fact, that she admittedly felt a pang of jealously when he told her he was getting married. She knew that they would have never been able to take their friendship to the next level on account of their work, but now that he was getting married, their harmless flirting could continue no longer. Also, there was the notion of 'if she couldn't have him, no one should', but she knew that that was the green monster of jealously talking, and not her. Deep down, she felt happy for him. As the crime scene came into full view, her nervous apprehension turned into dread. What she saw nearly caused her to regurgitate. It wasn't the body that made her sick. It was the notion that Warrick could be capable of such a crime that made her nauseous.

"No way." She said to herself.

"Hey Cath. Gris told me to tell you to help me with the body." Greg called out.

"Yeah…sure."

Catherine walked over to where Greg was standing, bent over the body.

"Whatcha got?" She inquired.

"Fingerprint, I think. This should clear Warrick." He said.

At that moment, Catherine envied Greg with a passion. His naivety refused to even consider for one moment that Warrick could be guilty. The second she got the call from Grissom, mixed thoughts ran through her head for the whole car ride. "Was he innocent? How bad was it? Could he have really done it?"

But here was Greg, already so sure of himself that Warrick was not guilty, that any evidence found could only clear him, not condemn him. Catherine wasn't so sure.

As he pulled the fingerprint of the strippers shoulder, some of the fingerprint dust remained stuck to the body.

"Hmm…interesting." Greg pondered.

"There must be something sticky on her shoulder. Some kind of adhesive residue." Catherine thought out loud.

"You wanna take this back to the lab? I can finish off here." Greg suggested handing her the fingerprint.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'm almost done here. I'm sure you want to get started on clearing Warrick anyway." He said.

"Yeah. Ok. I'll see you back at the lab." She said. The truth was she just wanted to get out of the room. She couldn't stand it anymore. As she walked back to her car, she wondered how Greg could be so calm. So sure. Everything pointed to Warrick. The fact that he disappeared didn't help his cause either.

"Oh Warrick." She sighed exasperatedly. "What have you done? What have you done…"

* * *

(A/N) Hey guys. Hope you enjoying it so far. Just wanted to know what you guys think of having Gibbs and co involved in this. It is supposed to be primarily a CSI fic with Tony the only real main character not from CSI. But if any of you guys think Gibbs and Kate and Probie should play somewhat of a bigger role, just tell me and I'll facilitate to your needs as best as I can. Also let me know how you think the story is going. Constructive criticism is also welcome. Read and review and all will be well!!! 


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N) Hey everyone. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. I just got back from holiday, which accounts for my lack of updating. But now I'm back and ready to roll. Just one thing… I know that usually, Gris and co wouldn't be working the case on account of being emotionally biased, but just suspend your disbelief. I really didn't feel like creating a whole new CSI team just for the sake of writing my story.

Recap: So basically Warrick is on his way to Washington, and the rest of the team have arrived at the crime scene. On with the rest of the story.

* * *

Warrick dumped his extremely exhausted body into one of Tony's armchairs. The flight coupled with the morning's ordeal left Warrick stressed and weary. It was 7:50 at night, and Tony decided to let Warrick settle in before leaving for the office.

"You gonna be alright here?" Tony asked.

"Yeah man. I'll be fine. Just cancel any 'appointments' you may have made. I don't want any mysterious women knockin on the door while I'm sleeping, you know."

"Yeah yeah. Anyways I'm gonna get goin. If you need anything, just call my cell."

"Alright. Hey, by the way, you gonna tell your boss about me?" Warrick asked just before Tony opened the front door.

"You kidding me? I don't think Gibbs would approve of me housing a suspected murderer." Tony said rather skeptically.

"You don't think he would help?"

"I don't know. I think it's better if we keep it in house though. Just to be safe."

"Yeah alright." Warrick leaned back in the chair. He closed his eyes and tried to relax.

"Anyways I'm off. Hopefully Nick will have made some progress back in Vegas."

Warrick kept his eyes shut. "Ok. See you later."

Tony opened the door and left Warrick to some peace and quiet.

When Tony left, Warrick tried to fall asleep. He kept his eyes closed and tried to clear his mind. Despite how physically and mentally exhausted he was, he couldn't get his mind to shut down. It was still racing. Warrick wondered how Nick was going back home. He wondered how Grissom reacted to the scene. He wondered about Melissa. Did she know yet? He needed to communicate with his team. He needed to know what they had found. Now he wished he had followed Tony to the office. Warrick opened his eyes and stood up. He looked around his friend's modest house. It was slightly bigger than his, but a whole lot messier. He walked over to the kitchen and checked the fridge. A carton of milk, a few eggs, left over chicken from god knows how long ago, some juice, some margarine and more than a few cans of beer. He wasn't even that hungry, but he needed something to do. He needed to get his mind off things for just a second. Warrick grabbed the milk and gave it a sniff. Seemed alright. He then grabbed a few eggs and began to cook. He hoped that cooking would calm his nerves, even if it was only for a minute. He soon found out it would do no good. He still couldn't get his mind off the crisis. He left the egg in the pan for too long and burned it. Warrick ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

"God dammit!" He fumed out loud, throwing the spatula in the sink and tossing the burnt omelet in the bin. "Come on Tony. I'm dying here Tony, I'm dying."

* * *

"Come on Nick! You're killing me. Tell me you got something better than that." Tony hissed into the speaker. There wasn't really anyone around at this time of night, but he never knew when Gibbs would just appear out of nowhere and ask 'Better than what Tony?', to which he would have no answer for.

"I'm sorry man. We haven't had time to analyze the evidence in the lab yet so it's all speculation." Nick rasped back on the other end of the line.

"Ok…so no signs of forced entry…what does that mean?"

"Well, other than the obvious…"

"Yes, other than the obvious."

"It means that the killer must have had a set of keys to Warrick's house. Either that or he's a locksmith." Nick suggested.

"Ok, let's go with the first theory for a second. Let's say the killer does have access to Warrick's house, maybe it's someone Warrick knows."

"Maybe. Or it could just be some guy that Warrick trusted enough to let into his house for a few hours. The killer could have taken the key while in the house."

"Cable guy?"

"I told you…I don't know. it's all speculation at the moment, which isn't going to help Warrick at all. We need rock solid evidence."

Tony remained silent for a while.

"You there?" Nick asked.

"Yeah…hey, have you told your boss about our little arrangement?"

"Um…no. Not really…Have you told Gibbs?"

"No. No way."

"So what? We gonna handle this ourselves?"

"I really don't see any other way."

"I feel kinda bad though, keeping Gris out of the loop. I just don't know how he will react. I mean the guy is so stone cold, he might see Warrick as just another suspect."

"Yeah, I see your point. What about Warrick's fiancée? Have you told her anything yet?"

"No. I called her earlier. Told her to come to the lab. I'll break the news to her then."

"Yeah alright. Anyway, I'm gonna get home. Update Warrick."

"Yeah. Good idea. And ask him how many sets of keys he has in the house and where he keeps them. I'll follow up on our theory."

"Alright, will do. I'll be back in to office tomorrow morning. Keep me posted." Tony said.

"Alright buddy. I'll speak to you tomorrow."

"Ok, see ya."

Tony placed the phone back on the receiver. He stood up and peeked out of his cubicle. Most people had left and the few that remained were of no importance. Tony sat back down in his chair and ruffled his hair. Things were not going so well but he had to remain positive. He had to stay strong. Warrick's freedom was counting on it.

* * *

"Excuse me, Mr. Stokes…"

Nick turned around. Vera, the receptionist had her head poking in the staff lounge.

"You've got a visitor. A Melissa Johnstone…"

"Oh right! She's here?"

"Yes. She's waiting for you in the reception area."

"Right. Thanks Vera." Nick stood up. He straightened out the creases in his shirt and pants and walked out into the lobby.

"Nick!" Melissa stood up to greet him. She began barraging him with questions as soon as he got into earshot. "What's going on? Where's Warrick? I tried to call his cell but…"

"Melissa! Mel! Calm down." Nick tried to stem the flow of frantic questions.

"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere quieter." Nick suggested.

"Nick…what's going on?" She asked again, concern in her eyes.

Nick led her to one of the empty interrogation rooms and motioned for her to sit. She did so, placing her handbag on her lap. Nick closed the door and sat opposite her.

"Has something bad happened to Warrick?"

Nick hesitated. She was obviously very concerned, but he didn't want her freaking out. He had way too much to deal with at the moment. In the end he decided that he would just be frank with her. There was no point in beating around the bush.

"We found a dead body in Warrick's house." He decided to omit the detail of where exactly the body was found. No point.

"Oh my god…"

Nick began to reassure her before she could break into hysterics. "We are working it twenty four seven. Everyone in the lab is pulling doubles. We'll find out who is trying to frame Warrick don't you worry about that."

At first she looked as if she was going to freak, but Nick's words seemed to have done the trick.

"So you guys know he's being framed?"

"Yes." Nick said as confidently as possible.

"Who's the dead person?"

"We don't know yet. We haven't been able to make an I.D just yet."

His answers seemed to satisfy her. "Where is he?"

Nick contemplated whether he should let her in on the whole story. Melissa noticed the hesitation and pressed again.

"Nick…where's Warrick?"

"Um…we don't know."

"What?! You mean he's missing?!?!" Melissa was leaning forward in her chair now. She began to get frantic.

"No…no. He's not missing."

"What? Did he flee the scene? Where is my fiancée?"

"Look, Melissa…we can't exactly reveal all aspects of the case. But I promise you, we will get to the bottom of this."

Melissa slumped onto the table, head resting on her hands. "What's going on? Why is this happening. We are supposed to be getting married in less than a week." Melissa cried out in frustration.

Nick stood up. He went over to rest a hand on Melissa's shoulder. "Come on…I'll drive you home. Get some rest. I'll call you as soon as we get a break in the case."

Melissa stood up, shoulders hunched. Her curly brown hair, which was usually quite neat and well kept, was now messy and unruly. She looked as though she had aged a few years since entering the interrogation room just a few minutes ago. Nick opened the door for her, ushered her out and closed it behind him.

* * *

Nick had just driven Melissa home and was back at the lab. Grissom told him to get the coroners report so he was standing next to Dr. Al Robbins, listening to his findings.

"Cause of death…single gunshot wound to the head." Dr. Robbins stated.

"Execution style. Right between the eyes." Nick added.

"The bullet mushroomed upon impact with the skull, but still had enough velocity to pierce the temporal lobe. She would have died instantly."

"What about time of death?" Nick inquired.

"David was right when he told you the T.O.D. Thursday evening."

"Right."

"This is a pretty stock standard case. Nothing unusual."

"Thanks doc. I'll give the report to Grissom. See what he makes of it."

Dr Robbins nodded. He handed Nick the report and proceeded to clean the body.


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N) Hey everyone. Sorry for the extremely long wait. Had a major writer's block. It was so bad I had at one point decided not to continue with this story. But in the end I just couldn't leave it hanging so I have pushed on (even though year 12 is breaking my back). Hope you guys enjoy and keep the reviews coming.

* * *

Warrick's first night in Washington was a restless one. He had managed to get some sleep, but not much. Tony was already up, sitting at the dining table, watching CNN.

"Hey man." Warrick said wearily.

Tony looked up from his bowl of cheerios. "Hey Warrick. Sleep alright?"

"Does it look like I slept alright?" Warrick asked sarcastically, running his hand through his hair.

Tony just nodded and went back to his cereal.

Warrick sat down opposite him. He wasn't really a breakfast person so he didn't bother using the empty bowl Tony had already set out for him.

"I always pictured you as being more of an MTV person rather than a CNN guy." Warrick joked.

"I am." Tony answered back through a mouthful of cheerios. "I just wanna see if you are national news yet."

Warrick leaned back in his chair and watched with Tony. He was anxious to see anything about the case.

The two friends sat quietly, watching the news intently. Tony finished up the last of his cereal and got out of his chair.

"Looks like Nick and Gris haven't released anything to the press yet." Warrick pointed out.

"They are probably gonna keep it in house for the moment. Get more evidence. Possibly clear you, before they go to the press."

Warrick nodded in agreement. Frankly he was anxious to see or hear something. Anything that told him that they were making progress at home. Alas it was not to be for the moment and he switched the T.V off.

"Hey before I go to the office, how many sets of keys do you keep in your house?" Tony asked, remembering the theory that he and Nick had formulated over the phone.

"Um…three. One for me, one spare that I keep in my bedside drawer and one for emergencies under the flowerpot just outside of the front door." Warrick rattled off.

"The old, key under the flowerpot eh."

"Why? Do you think someone stole one of my keys?"

"Maybe. Nick said that there weren't any signs of forced entry. So either the killer had a key, or he stole one from you."

Warrick sat silently for a moment, pondering what Tony had just said.

"Have you let anyone unfamiliar into your house recently? Cable guy or plumber maybe?"

Warrick racked his brain for an answer. The frenetic pace of the two days had fried his systems and he found it hard to concentrate.

"I had a cable guy over at my place about two weeks ago. A little problem with the reception on my TV. He only spent about ten minutes fixing the thing up and then he was out of there."

"Did you know him very well?" Tony asked.

"Not really. He was just a cable guy you know." Warrick replied.

"Yeah…" Tony said, trying to think of anything else to ask Warrick before he went back to the office. "Anyways, I'm off. I'll get Nick to check to see if your spare and emergency keys are still there."

"Alright. See you tonight." Warrick fare welled.

He was alone again, in the empty house. Usually, Warrick wouldn't have minded the peace and quiet. He always functioned best when there was nothing to distract him. But right now he needed someone to keep his mind off the case. He was in the unfamiliar position of having no control over his fate and it was driving him insane. He needed a distraction, but he couldn't risk leaving the house. Eventually, once the silence became deafening, he switched on the T.V. and turned to MTV.

* * *

The familiar sound of the bell preceded the opening of the elevator doors. Tony stepped out of the elevator, into the now much more crowded NCIS headquarters. He made his way to the desk, which was just how he had left it a few hours ago.

"You look like crap. Another late night?" Came the question from across the room. Kate sat there looking at Tony with a little sneer on her face. She never missed a chance to poke fun at him.

"You know it. And how about you? Another early night consisting of taped reruns of 7th Heaven and a big tub of now empty, mint chocolate chip ice cream?" Tony shot back as he dumped his bag on the ground and himself into his chair.

The little grin was gone from Kate's face and she gave Tony a dirty look before going back to whatever she was doing.

Normally, Tony would have gone over to her and continued to heckle and annoy her, usually by going into great detail about his latest one night stand. But currently, he had more pressing issues on his mind. He looked around the room to see if Gibbs was anywhere to be found. Having not spotted him, he picked up the phone and dialed Nick's number. He picked up after four rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Nick…it's me, Tony."

"Hey Tony. How's it going?" Nick asked, sounding a little weary.

"Not too bad, considering."

"How's Warrick?"

"He's holding up alright. Understandably anxious and fidgety, but he's alright."

"Good…good."

"Hey, I got some info. Warrick says he keeps three keys around the house. One he keeps with him on his key chain, one in his bedside drawer, and one under the flowerpot outside his house." Tony relayed the information which was just given to him. "Also…he says that he had TV problems and had a cable guy over to fix it about two weeks ago. Could be nothing but worth a follow up anyway."

"Alright. I'll check to see if the keys are still there and I'll try and get hold of this cable guy." Nick said.

"Yeah alright. Got anything else on the case?" Tony asked, still on the lookout for Gibbs or McGee.

"Yeah…actually, I do." Came the terse response on the other side of the line. "We found a finger print on the body. Ran it through both AFIS and through our employee database. Came back as Warrick's."

"You guys only found one fingerprint?" Tony questioned skeptically.

"Yeah…"

"It was probably planted. Have you ever heard of a killer leaving a solitary fingerprint on anything, unless it was planted?"

"True, but the DA won't see it that way. As far as they are concerned, all evidence points to Warrick. We got nothing to suggest that anyone else was involved except for Warrick's word."

"Good point." Tony said with a defeated tone in his voice. Just then he spotted his boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, walk out of the elevator with a paper cup of coffee in one hand and his coat in the other. "Hey, Nick…I gotta run. I'll call you back later." Tony said quickly, hanging up the phone and trying to look busy.

"Grab your gear." Gibbs said as he walked over to his desk to do just that.

"What's up boss?" Tony asked, trying to sound inconspicuous.

"Dead marine up near Quantico. Tony, start the car. Kate, go find McGee. Let's go." came the orders from the former marine. Tony reluctantly did as he was told. He couldn't be going around trying to solve two cases at once. And quite frankly, he didn't much care about this new case. It sounded callous, but the fact of the matter was, Tony knew Warrick. He didn't know this dead marine. Currently, his number one priority was to clear Warrick's name. But he had to do as he was told. A change in his attitude or even in his demeanor would be picked up by Gibbs like a police dog picks up a scent.

* * *

Going back to the house, Nick had an uneasy feeling inside of him. He couldn't pick what it was but it was there. He ducked under the police tape and walked up to the door. Bending down, Nick checked under the flowerpot. Sure enough, the key was there. He picked it up and used it to open the door.

Inside the house, a sense of stillness had come over the place. It was as if the crime scene tape had stop all life inside the place. Stepping inside, the uneasy feeling came back again. It was as if he felt he shouldn't be here, on account of what happened. He was familiar with Warrick's place, having been there many times, but it was as if this wasn't his house anymore. He hated it, but it felt like it was the suspect's house. Nick walked into the bedroom and over to the bedside table. Blood stained the white sheets and pillows. He opened the drawer and had a look inside. He had to take out some of the papers, but eventually he found the spare key. Both keys were accounted for. That left two other options. Either, the killer knew how to pick locks, or the killer was someone Warrick knew or trusted. Someone who had access to his house. Melissa, his wife.

"No way. No way in hell." Nick said to himself. Nick knew Melissa. He knew her quite well. One thing that Warrick always did before getting serious with a woman was to leave her alone with Nick. He knew that if he could trust a woman alone with Nick, and she didn't make a pass at him, he could trust her completely. Warrick could trust Melissa alone with Nick even after a few drinks. They got on very well, and were able to become close friends without developing any romantic emotions. Yet for some reason, there was some doubt in Nick's mind. Maybe they had gotten into a fight. Maybe she never even loved him at all and she was just trying to set him up. Warrick had put many men away for a long time. Melissa could be vengeful wife or girlfriend. Plus, they had only known each other for just under a year so anything was possible. Now that his friend was in trouble, all bets were off. He had to try everything in his power to free his name. If that meant jeopardizing his friendship with Melissa, then so be it.


	6. Chapter 6

(A/N) Hey guys...nothing much to say except for a few disclaimers. Any names of companies or institutes are of my complete imagination and if they bare resemblance to anything in real life, i assure you it is complete coincidence. Anyway on with the story.

* * *

The flash of light nearly blinded him.

"Would you be kind enough to NOT do that?" Tony asked.

"Do what? This?" A tone of mock innocence present in Kate's voice as she snapped another picture of Tony with the camera she was supposed to use to take crime scene photos.

"Boss, could you tell Kate to stop messing around and do her job?" Tony whined.

Gibbs gave Kate a look that said "I will end you" and Kate received it loud and clear. She bent down over the body and started to snap.

Tony and Kate stood among a copse of trees staring down at the dead marine. He was sprawled, face down, on the ground which was littered with leaves.

"I didn't know you were such a tattle tale. What's gotten into you?" Kate asked. She was quite obviously annoyed that Tony got her into trouble.

Bent over the body, trying to look like he was doing his job, Tony just wanted to scream at the top of his lungs "I'M HOUSING A SUSPECTED MURDERER, WHO HAPPENS TO BE MY BEST FRIEND!!! HALF OF THE LAS VEGAS PD IS AFTER HIM AND HE IS IN MY FRIEKEN HOUSE!!! IF HE GET'S CAUGHT, NOT ONLY WILL HE GO TO JAIL, BUT MY ASS WILL BE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK TOO!!! SO EXCUSE ME IF I SEEM A LITTLE EDGY!!!"

Instead, he said "Nothing…like I said before… late night."

"Well maybe you should stop having late nights then. Ever think of that?" Kate said a little too sneeringly. Tony, however, was in no mood to argue with her. He just wanted to do his job, and get back to the office so he could ring Nick again to see how he was going.

"You're right. Thanks for the advice." Tony said as politely as possible. He turned away just in time to miss the utter look of confusion on Kate's face. As Tony made his way over to what was to be presumed as the primary crime scene, ducking and weaving his way around branches and bushes, his cell phone began vibrating in his pocket.

"Hello?" Tony answered, forgetting to check caller ID as he usually did.

"Hey, Tony. It's me, Nick."

Tony took a quick look around to see if anyone was within earshot. He was safe. "Nick. What's going on? You got something?"

"Yeah. I swung over to Warrick's place to check the keys. Both the spare and the emergency are accounted for. Looks like our theory just went down the drain."

"Damn…" Tony swore under his breath. Just to be safe, he brought his voice down to a whisper. "Did you find anything else?"

"No…not really. But I do have another theory…" Nick began.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Maybe the killer is someone Warrick knows, or trusts. Someone who has access to his house. Someone Warrick trusted enough to maybe…give a set of keys to." Nick suggested.

"Yeah…maybe. Who did you have in mind? His neighbours perhaps?" Tony wondered out loud.

"Ummm…yeah. His neighbours." Nick sounded a little hesitant. "Look, just ask him if there is anyone else who has a set of his keys."

"Will do."

Just then, Gibbs' voice came booming out from the clearing where the body was.

"Tony!"

"Yeah boss?"

"Let's go!"

Tony breathed a sigh of relief as he hung up the phone and made his way over to the squad car.

* * *

"Hi. My name is Nick Stokes. I'm with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I have a few questions I would like to ask your manager." Nick stated as he stood in the reception area of the Diamond Ridge Cable Company. Warrick's cable company.

"May I ask what the questions are concerning?" Came the response from the intelligent, middle aged, raven haired receptionist.

"It's about an on going investigation." Nick was careful not to give anything away.

Looking at him over her wire rimmed glasses, she picked up the phone and pressed the button connecting her to the manager.

"Hey, Brad. You got a visitor from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Has a few questions for you. Should I show him to your office?" The receptionist spoke into the phone. "Ok Brad."

She replaced the receiver and took off her glasses, placing them on the table.

"His office is just around that corner over there." She indicated with her manicured finger. "It'll be the second door on your right."

"Thank you." Nick said as he made his way over, ignoring the fake, nostalgic smile she gave him.

Straightening himself out, he knocked on the door.

"Come in." Came Brad's response. "Hi. How may I help you today detective?"

"I just have a few questions regarding one of your employees." Nick said, walking over to Brad's desk and taking a seat opposite the young manager of the Diamond Ridge Cable Company.

"What is it concerning may I ask?" Brad enquired in a voice that dripped with fake politeness. Nick knew the politeness would quickly dissolve and he would clam up the second he caught wiff of what Nick's intentions were so he decided to spin the truth just a little bit.

"Oh nothing too serious. We think one of your employees might have information that will help us catch our guy."

"Really? Well I would be pleased to help, as would the person you are looking for I'm sure. Now who exactly were you after?"

"Well, here is the thing. I don't know the name of your employee in question. All I know was that he would have been working over in West Las Vegas just over 2 weeks ago." Nick said.

"Sure. Let me have a look." Brad began checking his employee database and came up with a hit moments later. "Ah yes. I had one guy working over there 13 days ago. David Whitney. New guy. I don't think he's here today though. Only works weekends."

"Why's that?"

"Don't know. Get's paid minimum. Does his job, doesn't complain, so I don't complain. Don't see a reason to change anything if nothing's wrong."

"True. Anyway, could I have his home address?" Nick was pushing it here, but he was desperate to come up with a lead.

"Well…it's kind of against company policy to…"

"Yeah, I know. I just wanna ask him a few questions. It's really quite important. The guy we are after is really quite dangerous." Nick probed.

"Dangerous? And you think David knows something that will help you catch this guy?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet. That's why I need to talk to him."

After a moment of consideration, Brad gave in and did a little more typing in his computer.

"Alright, his address is number 12, Parkview road." Brad said, reading off his computer screen.

"Thank you."

* * *

Warrick awoke with a start. His head jerked up and his hand reflexively flew to his waist where his gun would have been. He did a quick scan of his surroundings and let out a sigh of relief. Realising he was in a safe place he laid his head back down on the couch.

"I'm going crazy…" Warrick thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone fiddling with lock on the door. He sat up straight as if expecting trouble but realised that even if there was trouble, he was in no position to repel to the intruder. The door opened and in walked Tony.

"Jeez. You scared the hell out of me." Warrick sheepishly admitted.

"A bit wound up are we?" Tony asked as he threw his coat on the sofa and his keys on the kitchen counter.

"Just a little" Warrick under exaggerated with a smile on his face.

"Did you at least get some sleep?"

"Yeah, a few hours."

"That's good."

"So how was work? Did Nick call?" Anxiety creeping back into Warrick's mind.

"Yeah, he did actually." Tony called out from the bedroom. He came out wearing sweatpants and a t shirt, and sat down on the recliner opposite Warrick. "He swung by your place earlier today, to check your keys."

"And?" Warrick was at full attention now.

"Both were accounted for." Tony said, defeat present in his voice.

"Damn."

"Does anyone else have a set of your keys?" Tony asked.

"Just Melissa." Warrick said offhandedly. He was busy trying to think of other possibilities. Tony on the other hand, had already thought of a possibility. One which Warrick might not take to. Living on almost the other side of the country, Tony only met up with Warrick and Nick on special occasions. The trip to Las Vegas for the bachelor party was the first time he had met Melissa. He didn't know much about her, and things he didn't know much about, he rarely trusted.

"Warrick…" Tony started precariously. Warrick only looked up.

"Is it possible, that…"

Warrick, who knew his friend well and could often finish his sentences for him, knew where the question was heading, and stood up angrily.

"No! No way!" He said rather loudly.

"Are you sure, because…"

"No! Ok? Just no. There is no way in hell she could have done it. She doesn't even have a motive for Christ sake!" Warrick was becoming angry now and Tony decided to drop it.

"Ok….ok. Calm down. I'm sorry." Tony was standing as well now, his hands raised in surrender. "It's just that we've got nothing. Nada. Zilch."

Warrick slumped back down into the sofa, burying his head in his hands.

"But don't worry. We'll find something." Tony walked over and ruffled Warrick's already messy hair. He could sense his friend was slipping, and decided to give him some encouragement, even though he had nothing to back it up with.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N) Hey guys. Thanks ofr the reviews and I'm hoping to get a lot more before it ends. So please keep the reviews coming. I really appreciate the time you take to just drop a few words of encouragement or criticism. Thanks a lot. Anyway not much to say so I'll just get on with the story.

* * *

Nick walked out of David Whitney's house feeling extremely empty inside. He felt as though he had failed his best friend yet again. To Nick, David was the prime suspect, even though everyone else had already decided that Warrick was guilty. Grissom was beginning to succumb to the pressure as well. He had been doing his best to hold off the press, but now that Eckley was breathing down his neck, he had given Nick 24 hours to come up with something or he was going to have to make the investigation public. It had been 23 hours since Grissom had laid down the ultimatum, and Nick still had nothing. David Whitney turned out to be a bust. He was just your average, single, middle aged man. Mid thirties, lived in a small house, held down two, low paying jobs. He did weekends at the cable company, just like Brad, the manager had said. Worked weekdays as a janitor at Crescent Lane Medical Centre. Nothing conspicuous. Feeling utterly frustrated, Nick decided to go back to his original theory, Melissa. As much as he would hate questioning her, he was running out of options.

* * *

Warrick sat in Tony's recliner, playing with his keychain. The keychain was a present from Melissa from when they first started dating. She had had it custom made, and on it was a picture from their first date. Warrick had taken Melissa to a movie at the mall. It was pretty low key and he had continuously told her that he was more than happy to take her to a fancy restaurant for dinner or something along those lines, but she refused, saying it was what she wanted. Melissa was not a high maintenance girl, and for that, Warrick was grateful. She was a simple woman, with simple tastes. Anyway, after the movie, they went into one of those corny photo booths and took a whole bunch of snaps. She had picked one of the worst days to take photos, as it was a very humid day that day, which made his hair frizz way out, making him look like a mad scientist. Warrick smiled to himself as he reminisced about old times. The adrenaline from the past few days had worn off, and he felt less wound up. Less tense. But now had come an overwhelming sense of helplessness. He could do nothing but sit and wait for his fate to be decided for him. He was going crazy out of his mind with boredom and just wanted to do something. Anything that could help his case. But he knew that the best thing for him to do was just to wait it out and trust Nick and Tony to save him. Just then he noticed something. He brought the keychain closer to his face for a more focused inspection. It wasn't the keychain which piqued his interest, it was the actual key. There was some sort of bluish like clay stuck in the ruts of his house key. He picked it out and held it in his finger. It was only a small amount, but straight away he knew what it was. Warrick practically leaped out of the recliner and sprinted for the phone.

* * *

Nick stood outside the interrogation room in which Melissa was waiting. He had just got word back from the lab that the sticky substance found on the victim's body came from the adhesive side of an electrical tape of some sort. He didn't read much into it. Electrical tape could be bought at any kind of hardware store. The killer probably used the tape to wrap the body up, which would explain how it was in such good condition. The more Nick thought about it, the less he began to suspect the woman sitting in the interrogation room. There was no way she was capable of such acts. Yet, he had no other options. She was the best lead he had. He placed the report into his case folder and walked into the room with his poker face firmly on.

"Nick! How's the investigation going? Have you found the person responsible? And where the hell is Warrick? I haven't heard from him in days! Is he alright?" The questions came pouring out fast and furiously as Nick tried his best to settle the frantic woman down.

"Sit down, take a deep breath." He ordered as he did the same opposite her. "Look, I'm sure Warrick is fine."

"How can you be sure Nick? You don't even know where he is for god's sake!"

"Melissa! You need to calm down right now. Ok? I understand your concern, but we are doing the best we can and right now, I need for you to calm down."

Melissa slumped forward, her head in her hands, posed a figure of defeat. "Oh…I just don't know what to do. What to think. People are saying this and that about Warrick and I just don't know…I'm so confused."

Nick really dreaded the situation he was in. He could almost feel her pain. Pain that wouldn't be there if she was responsible. Yet he had to do it. No one else was going to.

"Melissa, I have to ask you a few questions…questions about your past…"

* * *

Tony drove full speed back to his office. He had received a phone call from Warrick on his cell phone, which was extremely dangerous. If Gibbs found out that he was receiving calls from his house, he would become suspicious. But the news he received from Warrick was good news. It seemed as if Warrick had discovered some kind of moulding plaster on his key. That means someone could have made a duplicate of the key and would have access to Warrick's house. He had gone back and retrieved the plaster sample and was on his way back to the lab to test it. He would call Nick once it was confirmed.

"Why are you asking me these questions Nick? What could this possibly have to do with Warrick?" Melissa cried out.

"Mel…just answer the question ok? Where were you Thursday afternoon?" Nick repeated his question.

"What? You think I had something to do with this? You think I did this to Warrick?!?"

"I didn't say that."

"Just say it Nick. Don't bullshit me. I deserve better than this. Just tell me you think I had something to do with it. I want to hear you say it!" She was livid and on her feet now. Nick was speechless. He didn't know how to respond. Luckily he didn't have to say anything just yet as his phone saved him.

"Hello?" Nick said into the phone as he pleaded for Melissa to sit back down. She did so with her hands crossed and her eyes staring daggers into him.

"Hey Nick. Tony here. I got something for you."

"What? Give me something good Tony." Nick said desperately into the phone.

"Warrick found a piece of moulding plaster stuck in the ruts of his house key. I just had it tested in the lab. It's consistent with the plaster used by blacksmiths for key moulding." "Although now, you can get that stuff pretty much anywhere." Nick said sounding less enthused than Tony.

"Yeah, but at least it puts the cable guy back on the cards."

Nick hadn't thought of that, but Tony was right. The cable guy could have made the moulding whilst in Warrick's house fixing his TV. He took out the sheet of paper from his case folder with David the cable guy's information. "Alright. I'll pay him another visit." Nick said as they concluded the conversation. He put his phone back in his pocket and shifted his gaze back to Melissa, who still looked extremely angry.

"Hey, sorry about all those questions. I didn't mean to offend you. And no. Honestly, I don't think you are responsible."

Melissa's face lightened up a little. "But you did, didn't you?" She questioned.

"Well, yeah. I did." He admitted. "But I was desperate. I'm just trying to find out who is trying to frame Warrick."

"So you still think Warrick is being framed?" She asked, her face now back to it's kind, normal self.

"I would bet my life on it." He reassured her. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. At least there is one other person besides me who thinks so."

Nick smiled at her. He put the piece of paper in his hand down on the table to rub his face.

"David Whitney?" Melissa asked inquisitively.

"Sorry?" Nick said, half not paying attention to what she had said.

"Are you looking at David as a possible suspect?"

"Um…sort of. He's just Warrick's cable guy, we aren't too sure if he is even involved at all."

"Cable guy? I though he worked at the hospital…" Melissa questioned.

"Yeah he does. He works weekdays at the hospital as a janitor and weekends at…wait…do you know this guy?" Nick asked, just realising that there could be a connection.

"Janitor? He's not a janitor…he's a doctor isn't he?" Melissa had a look of absolute puzzlement on her face. Nick had no more of an idea of what was going on either.

"Do you know this guy Melissa?" Nick repeated.

"Yeah…we used to date…"

* * *

(A/N) Hmmm...revelations, revelations, revelations...Things are starting to pick up and the conclusion will be coming soon. Stay tunued to find out what happens next.

* * *


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